Brigitta

Hungarian by birth, I lived in Austria and Germany in the immediate post-World War II years. My family migrated to Australia as political refugees in 1950 and I completed my secondary education (Leaving Certificate, N.S.W.) in 1954.

I began teaching in January 1957 at Matraville Public School where most pupils were from Matraville Migrant Hostel and Bunnerong Migrant Hostel. This was a special appointment because of my migrant background. During this period, I taught evening classes in English to Adult Hungarian refugees of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. This appointment to teach evening classes was made by the Department of Immigration and the Department of Education when it was discovered that at that time, I was the only postwar migrant with teaching qualifications from an Australian Teachers' College.

In 1962 I was appointed to Woollahra Demonstration School as a teacher in the Infants Department and then in 1965 I was appointed to the position of Deputy Mistress in that school. In 1967, I resigned from teaching to commence a family.

In September 1973, I accepted a teaching position at Bathurst demonstration School as a teacher in charge of the Special Class. I held this position until in 1975 we moved to Toowoomba when my husband took up appointment as Dean of Education at the then Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education.

In February 1975 I was appointed to Rangeville State School.

In 1977 I was selected by the Department of Education to undertake the one year full-time course in Special Education, the Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Exceptional Children). On successfully completing this course, I was appointed to Toowoomba Special School, Ramsay Street.

I have remained a registered teacher and have been granted permission to return to teaching with the Department of Education without restriction. Since 1992, I have continued to teach at various schools around the district.